Bundesverband der Verbraucherzentralen und Verbraucherverbände – Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e. V. – Court Ruling (Germany, 2020)

Court Ruling
DPA OLGFrankfurt28 May 2020Germany
final
ePrivacy
Court Ruling

Germany's court ruled that using pre-ticked boxes for cookie consent is not valid under data protection rules. This means companies can't assume consent just because a box is already checked. Website operators should ensure users actively agree to tracking cookies.

What happened

Planet49 used pre-ticked boxes to obtain consent for tracking cookies.

Who was affected

Website visitors who participated in Planet49's online lottery and had their browsing behavior tracked.

What the authority found

The court decided that pre-ticked consent boxes do not count as informed consent under GDPR.

Why this matters

This case highlights that consent must be actively given, not assumed, setting a clear standard for online consent practices. Website operators should review their consent mechanisms to ensure compliance with GDPR.

GDPR Articles Cited

Art. 5(3) ePrivacy Directive GDPR
Art. 94 GDPR
Art. 95 GDPR
Art. 4(11) GDPR

National Law Articles

§ 1 (UKlaG - Injunctions Act Unterlassungsklagengesetz)
§ 307 Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch - BGB)
§ 7 Unfair Competition Act (Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb - UWG)
§ 15 Telemedia Act (Telemediengesetz - TMG)
Decision AuthorityBGH
Reviewed AuthorityOLG Frankfurt (Germany)
Full Legal Summary
Detailed

See facts at the GDPRhub entry to the "Planet 49 case" (C-637/1/). The second checkbox containing a preselected tick used by the defendant (Planet 49) read as follows: {| class="wikitable" !English translation !German original |- |‘I agree to the web analytics service Remintrex being used for me. This has the consequence that, following registration for the lottery, the lottery organiser, [Planet49], sets cookies, which enables Planet49 to evaluate my surfing and use behaviour on websites of advertising partners and thus enables advertising by Remintrex that is based on my interests. I can delete the cookies at any time. You can read more about this here.’ |"Ich bin einverstanden, dass der Webanalysedienst Remintrex bei mir eingesetzt wird. Das hat zur Folge, dass der Gewinnspielveranstalter, [Planet49], nach Registrierung für das Gewinnspiel Cookies setzt, welches Planet49 eine Auswertung meines Surf- und Nutzungsverhaltens auf Websites von Werbepartnern und damit interessengerichtete Werbung durch Remintrex ermöglicht. Die Cookies kann ich jederzeit wieder löschen. Lesen Sie Näheres hier." |} In the explanation linked to the word "here", it was pointed out that the cookies would receive a specific, randomly generated number (ID) associated with the registration data of the user who entered his/her name and address in the web form provided. If the user with the stored ID would visit the website of an advertising partner registered for Remintrex, this visit should be recorded, as well as which product the user is interested in and whether a contract is concluded. Following the CJEU's reasoning in its preliminary ruling, the BGH dismissed the defendants' appeal and, on the plaintiff's appeal, overturned the appellate judgment regarding cookie consent and restored the first instance conviction of the defendant: *The declaration of consent by the preselected tick box does not constitute an "informed indication of the data subject's wishes" within the meaning of Arti

Outcome

Court Ruling

A ruling by a national court on a data-protection matter.

Violations (1)

Pre-ticked Consent Boxes
high

Cookie consent checkboxes are pre-selected by default, violating the requirement for active, affirmative consent.

Art. 4(11) GDPR

Related Cases (0)

No other cases found for Bundesverband der Verbraucherzentralen und Verbraucherverbände – Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e. V. in DE

This is the only recorded case for this entity in this jurisdiction.

Details

Ruling Date

28 May 2020

Authority

DPA OLGFrankfurt

About this data

Data: GDPRhub (noyb.eu)
Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Cite as: Cookie Fines. Bundesverband der Verbraucherzentralen und Verbraucherverbände – Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e. V. - Germany (2020). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu

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